Linking Arms to Grow Readers

By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president

Fort Morgan, Colorado, is a farming community where crops like corn and wheat grow. Farming can be challenging there, however, as the eastern plains of the Rocky Mountains are a literal water-deprived high desert. Fort Morgan also is historically challenged to grow another crop—that of young readers. In 2018, it was estimated that only 27 percent of homes in Morgan County likely had 100+ books, identifying the community as a Book Desert. That began to change, however, when businesses and individuals stepped up for early literacy.

Several good corporate citizens of Fort Morgan banded together to establish a Growing Readers program for their preschoolers. Their goal was to ensure that the approximately 250 4-year-olds who entered kindergarten in fall 2019 received four books every week for six months prior to entering school. That meant that each family with a Kindergartener had its very own library of 100+ picture books before the first day of school!

While 100 books may sound like a good number because it’s nice and round, it's actually derived from solid data, including some from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. What researchers determined is that the single most important factor related to a child reaching the level of “Proficient” on reading assessments by 4th grade is not family education or income. It is having 100 books in the home.

Unite for Literacy (located in nearby Larimer County, Colo.) had the honor of supplying the books and helping deliver associated reading activities to the Fort Morgan children and their families. Families also were encouraged to access the Unite for Literacy digital library of over 600 books—a virtual space where families can hear books in English, as well as in their home languages.

Offering narrations in many languages was especially important given that the Fort Morgan community is made up of people from more than 20 nations. Having book narrations in residents’ native tongues was vital to families connecting meaningfully with the books, and to the success of the program itself.

We at Unite for Literacy believe that the way Fort Morgan is growing readers will become a model for communities everywhere. And for us, the prospect of uniting to Grow Readers—in Fort Morgan and around the world—is nothing short of thrilling!